History
John Adams, the first President to live in the White House, used this room as a laundry room; at that time it was said to have been filled with "Tubs, Buckets, and a variety of Lumber." During the 1850-1853 presidency of Millard Fillmore, Congressional funding was requested to establish this library. Though the library was established during the Fillmore presidency, the driving force behind the room was actually the First Lady, Abigail Powers Fillmore. The room saw only slight modifications until the Truman reconstruction in 1952, when the room was paneled in salvaged timbers from the White House's former timber frame. These were left unpainted until the administration of John F. Kennedy, when decorator Stéphane Boudin recreated the room as a painted Federal style parlor.
To stand out an unusual lighthouse clock made by Simon Willard to commemorate the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States in 1824-25. A likeness of Lafayette appears in a medallion on its base.
The Library provides access to a men's lounge and restroom.
Read more about this topic: Library (White House)
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“Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.”
—Imre Lakatos (1922–1974)
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“We aspire to be something more than stupid and timid chattels, pretending to read history and our Bibles, but desecrating every house and every day we breathe in.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)